How to Merge Tables in Access

Techwalla may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.
Image Credit: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Getty Images

Microsoft Access 2013 databases consist of tables that you can change in a variety of useful ways. For example, if your database contains two similar tables, you don't have to spend ages copying data manually to merge them. A special command called an Append query automates the task by selecting data from one table and copying it to another quickly. You even have the ability to choose the records you'd like to copy from your source table and append in the destination table.

Advertisement

Step 1

Open an Access database that contains a table you want to merge into another table. Ensure that the data types in the source and destination tables are compatible. For instance, if the first field in the source table is a number field, the first field in the destination table must be a number field. As Microsoft notes, "Text fields are compatible with most other types of fields." In other words, it's okay if a field in the source table is a number field and the corresponding field in the destination table is a text field.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

Step 2

Click "Create" and then click "Query Design" to view the Show Table window that lists the database's tables. Click the table that contains the records you wish to copy. Click "Add" followed by "Close." Excel places the table and its fields in the query designer.

Advertisement

Step 3

Double-click the asterisk at the top of the query designer and Excel adds all the table's fields to the query design grid.

Step 4

Click "Run" to run the query and view a table that shows the table's records. Click "View" followed by "Design View" and then click "Append" to open the Append window.

Advertisement

Step 5

Click "Current Database," if the destination table is in the current database and then click the "Table Name" combo box. Select the table to which you wish to append the source table's records. Otherwise, click "Another Database" and type the name and location of the database that contains the destination table. Type that table's name in the "Table Name" combo box and click "OK."

Advertisement

Step 6

Right-click the top of the query design window and select "Datasheet View" to view a preview showing the records the query will append. Right-click the top of the window again and select "Design View."

Step 7

Click "View" followed by "Data Sheet and then click "Run." A dialog window asks if you'd like to append the rows from the source table to the destination table. Click "Yes" to do that or click "No" to cancel the operation. When you click "Yes," Excel merges your tables.

Video of the Day

Advertisement

Advertisement

references & resources